Police wrapup: Trial dates set in Park Twp. murder case

Friday

Jul 25, 2014 at 7:58 PM

By Jim.Hayden@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4274

A woman charged with masterminding the murder of her ex-boyfriend will face an Ottawa County jury in November.Maryann Leal Castorena, 40, of Park Township, is charged with open murder, conspiracy to commit murder and solicitation of murder. Open murder is punishable by life in prison.The trial is scheduled for Nov. 4-7 in Ottawa County Circuit Court in Grand Haven in front of Judge Edward Post.Anthony Alfredo Delagarza, 19, of Holland, admitted during a preliminary exam earlier this month that he killed Jose Hernandez by beating him with a metal tool on Jan. 5 in the parking lot of Amberwood Apartments in Park Township. As part of a deal, he will plead guilty to second-degree murder and testify against Castorena.Police said Castorena wanted Hernandez dead so she could collect $1.5 million in life insurance. Investigators produced a note found in Castorena’s room that they say detail how to kill Hernandez. Delagarza said she offered him $75,000 to commit the killing.Castorena can be charged with open murder because, prosecutors say, she encouraged or aided the crime. That results in being tried as if the person directly committed the murder.Castorena’s trial will be the second murder trial this fall in Grand Haven.Jodie Christine McLean, 42, of Holland, faces a charge of open murder and manslaughter in the death of Steven Gordon on Feb. 20 after a fight in an apartment on East 20th Street the previous evening.Her trial is set for. Sept. 30 through Oct. 3 in Ottawa County Circuit Court in Grand Haven. Judge Jon Hulsing will preside.A list from April shows 28 potential witnesses, according to court documents.

Teen charged with murder faces evaluationsThe 15-year-old Dorr boy charged with killing his 21-year-old cousin and attempting to kill his 67-year-old grandmother is undergoing competency and criminal responsibility exams before the case moves forward.Joshua Lee Keyzer faces life in prison if convicted of either charge.On June 25, police responded to a 911 call of an assault in Wayland Township on the eastern side of Allegan County. Upon entering the house, police found Keyzer’s grandmother Sharon Keyzer with severe injuries to her neck. The body of Kassandra Keyzer was found in the lower level of the house and a knife was discovered at the scene.Joshua Keyzer tried to flee the scene when police arrived so they used a Tazer to subdue him.The competency exam determines if the defendant understands the legal proceedings he’s involved in and can assist in his own defense. The responsibility evaluation determines the suspect’s state of mind when the offense occurred.The reports will be examined by Judge Joseph Skocelas on Aug. 27.

Mother jumps off pier to rescue daughterStrong waves on Lake Michigan washed a 4-year-old girl from the South Pier in Grand Haven about 5 p.m. Wednesday.The child’s mother jumped in to rescue her and bystanders threw a life ring to the pair to pull them back to safety, according to the Grand Haven Department of Public Safety.The child was not wearing a life jacket. No one was injured.Holger Kuester and his brother, Ulrich Kuester of Spring Lake, saw the incident sprang into action by grabbing life rings from the pier stands, according to the Grand Haven Tribune. By then, the woman had grabbed the child. The first toss of the life-saving device fell short.Holger said he could see the woman and child were quickly drifting away.“Mentally, I just placed where I wanted it to go and I threw it,” he said. “It went right past them. It couldn’t have been placed any better.”Holger said the woman was able to hang onto her child and grab the life ring. The men on the pier were able to pull the mother and daughter to a nearby ladder and lift them out of the choppy water.Grand Haven State Park Officer Paul Vargo said strong winds out of the north-northwest led to a red flag warning at the park on Wednesday. He said that’s when it’s not safe to be on the pier.“We’re getting waves smashing over the pier,” he said. “That’s what causes people to lose their footing. There’s a lot of power behind the water.”— The Grand Haven Tribune contributed to this report. Follow Jim Hayden on Twitter@SentinelJim.